Upholstery.



Patented Feb. I8, I902.

A. FRESCHL.

U P H 0 L S T E R Y.

(Application filed. July so, 1900.

(No Model.)

UNITE FFICEQ ALFRED FRESCI'IL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

UPHOLSTERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 693,644, dated February18, 1902.

Application filed July 30, 1900, Serial No. 25,223. (No specimens) T0aZZ 1077,0727, it may concern:

Beitknown that I, ALFRED FRESCHL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Upholstery, (Case No.11;) and I do hereby declare that the followingis such a full, clear,and exact description of the invention as will enable others skilled inthe art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improved prepared filler to be used inmaking upholstered or tufted cushions and linings, and has for itsobject to provide a material adapted for such use which shall be alreadyprepared for the process of tufting.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described,andparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention is intended to be used in the production of upholsteredcushions, backs, or seats designed for use in upholstering sofas,chairs, carriages, and like objects, and for linings and decorations ofcaskets and other articles where upholstery is used, and which usuallyconsists, when completed and ready for application to the seat or othersupport,of a bottom or backing of cardboard, burlap, or other likematerial, an outer or upper covering or facing of leather, cloth, orsimilar material, and a filling or packing of suitable material. Toproduce the tufted effect in these cushions or linings, which may be ofany pattern or design, the filling is divided into a plurality ofelevated, rounded, or diamondshaped projections, and the cover andbacking are secured together between these elevations at the base of thecushion by suitable fastening or anchoring means, whereby the cover orlining presents a number of tufts disposed in regular and orderly arrangement in accordance with the selected pattern, the outer edges beingfinished in any manner appropriate to the use for which it is intended.In the process of making such tufted cushions as heretofore generallypracticed the backing and cover were usually secured together, as alongone or more of their edges, and the tufts or projections were made stepby step, beginning at the outside row of rows were successivelycompleted, or the materials were laid over a suitable form, the loosefilling being inserted around the tufters of the form, and mechanicalmeans were employed to bring the parts into the desired relation tofinish the cushion by suitably connecting the cover and backing at thebases of the depressions between the tufts by retaining-stitches or byclench-buttons.

In the drawings, which illustrate certain forms of devices that may beemployed in practicing the present invention, Figure 1 is aperspectiveview of a section of filler constructed according to my invention andready for operation and manipulation. Figs. 2 and 3 are views showingdiiferent methods of employing my new filler in the operation of makinga cushion. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are Views of slightly-modified forms offiller.

In making a cushion embodying my present invention a suitableupholstering or tufting apparatus may be employed, providing means atregular intervals or in regular patterns to allow the operator to tuftthe inner and outer coverings together at the base of the tuft-pits. Thefiller A may be a sheet of any suitable materialsuch as cotton-batting,felt, compacted hair, moss, excelsior, or any other suitablematerial-provided with perforations a, arranged in any design or patternwhich is to be reproduced in the tufted cushion, these perforationscorresponding in arrangement and disposition to the depressions ortuft-pits in the cushion, which re ceive the tuft-buttons or otherfastenings between the elevations or projections. The perforations areproduced in any suitable manner, preferably by laying the web of fillerover a marking-board having indicators arranged to correspond with thetuft-pits and then perforating the material, as by parting, opening, orcutting through it by means of a suitable tool operating like abiscuit-cutter. Either before orafter the perforations have beenprovided the web of material is preferably suitably treated to preventit from pulling or getting out of shape. In tufted cushions the tuftpitsare regularly and uniformly arranged, and it is desirable to have theperforations in the filler, which should register With these tuft-pitsin order to produce the best efiects, preserved and retained in thecorresponding pattern and prevented from becoming uneven by reasons ofthe tendency of the material to pull or stretch, especially where amaterial not closely compacted is employed, as cotton-batting. For thispurpose the web or sheet of material may be treated by any suitablemeans which shall preserve its contour. I have found by experience thata very effective means to this end is provided by stitching the web,preferably longitudinally and transversely, as at a in Fig. 4. Also thisresult may be attained by sizing or shellacking the web, as indicated ata in Fig. 5. It is obvious that it is not necessary to treat allmaterials adapted for use as a filler in order to prevent irregularityin the perforations, as the density of the material or the degree towhich the fibers have been compacted will often preserve its shapeas,for example, where felt or any other denselycompacted material isemployed.

The filler, as above described, will be found suitable for use in anykind of tufted cushion, as it is clear that any depth of tuft may beproduced by employing as many layers of the prepared sheets or webs asmay be desired. However, in order to provide for ex tra fullness andsoftness in the tufts I may construct a filler having an intermediatelayer of loose hair,-moss, or like material between two layers or websof more compact or dense material, such as felt or cotton-batting. Asshown in Fig. 6, this type of filler may be produced by using anintermediate layer a of loose material between an upper and lower web aof relatively compact material. The several layers may be securedtogether, if desired, in any suitable manner, and the upper and lowerlayers are provided with perforations C6 in the manner above described,the intermediate loose material, if not separated at these points,readily compacting when the tuft-pits are formed. In this form or in anyform where one web is placed upon another the lower web may be of coarsematerial, this producing a deep tuft of the finest upper surface at acomparatively low figure.

The prepared filler may be employed in any manner and upon any type ofmachine. For example, as shown in Fig. 2, it may be used on a mold B,provided with upwardly-projecting tufting-posts b. In this machine thecover or outer fabric :0 is placed face downward in the mold, beingpositioned upon the tufters by marks first provided, as is wellunderstood in the art, the tufting-pegs z preferably being employed, andthe filler is then put in place by passing the tufters or tuftingpegsthrough its perforations, and the backing y is positioned and secured tothe cover in any of the well-known ways, the pegs being removed, ofcourse, before the backing is applied. Also, as shown in Fig. 3, thecushion may be tufted upon a suitable tuftingtable 0, provided withtufting-openings c. In this case the backing is laid over the table, andthe filler, previously provided with perforations arranged to correspondwith the openings in the table, is then placed in position, with itsperforations registering with the openings in the table, after which thecover is positioned over the filler and the tuft-pits formed by sewingthrough the openings or otherwise securing the cover to the backing atthe perforations, the fullness of material in the cover providing theslack for the tufts or projections. As shown at the right of Fig. 3, theedges of the filler about the perforations will be drawn down orcompacted by the operation of securing the cover and backing together,the cover being drawn taut, the other figures not showing this featurefor mere convenience of illustration.

In the form shown in Fig. 6 the intermediate layer a is shown at theleft hand as parted or perforated to correspond with the perforations inthe outer webs, while at the right hand it is shown as compacted at theperforations, and it will be drawn down to the base thereof by the coverwhen in position.

WVith any type of machine that may be used to tuft the cover the tuftingor securing together of the inner and outer materials may beaccomplished in any well-known manner. In Fig. 2 I have showntuft-buttons for this purpose, they being employed where superiorworkmanship is desired, though ordinary soft tufts stitched to thematerial may be used. At the left of this figure the shanks of thebuttons are shown before they are clenched, while at the right they areshown clenched over, it being understood that suitable washers maybeused, as now well understood. In Fig. 3, at the left, is shown aclench-button, which may be of any desired type of either single ordouble prong variety and which is inserted from above by hand, and itsshank is bent or clenched over by a hand-tool or by a suitable anvil onthe table, both as now well known. At the right of this figure the coverand backing are shown as sewed or stitched together, when a soft tuft orrosette may be used.

It is apparent that any suitable material may be employed as the filler,and my invention comprehends any material of a suitable nature, theimportant feature being the provision of a prepared filler, which may beexpeditiously and uniformly positioned on the mold or table in properrelation to the associated parts.

The term cushion is here used to indicate any form of upholsteredarticlesuch as a cushion, a pad, a lining, or any similar device-itbeing obvious that the prepared filler here disclosed maybe used inmaking upholstered articles of anykind and regardless of theirparticular form or the nature of their specific use or the materialemployed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. A preparedfiller for use in making tufted upholstery composed of a sheet offibrous material provided with perforations arranged in predeterminedorder in the pattern to be produced in the cushion.

2. A prepared filler for use in making tufted upholstery composed of aWeb of fibrous ma- I 5 terial provided with perforations arranged in

